Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-12-02

~ situeted who might and would be
affected; ard you directed that auch =
should be 80 administered by this
department as, IL possibls,' To protect
these settlers from saeh notwithstanding
your beliel, that this can ue done under
the provision which declares that these
selecilona shall be made under the
direction OF the secretary of the Interior
After years of waiting congress had
failed to empower the department. 10
make the necessary surveys whereby
some of the grants might be adjusted,
,end no immediate prospect of such sur
veys was in sight. But y law was passed
March 5, 1887, ga states, 556l whereby
tue secretary Of tbe interior WAS "dtrec-
ted TO Immediately adjust each Of the
railroad land grsnts mRde by congress
to aid so tho construction of rail-
roads,"
With gu earnest desirs to obey the
mandate of congress To give to the COR
iporatlops their every right under the
laws and at the same time follow the
directions given by you 20 see that ample
protection should be extended to settlers
snd those seeking to make settlements
on the public lands Ia matter which had
been BIO long and SO utterly o%vershadow-
ed, | entered upon q most careful con
sidelation of the whole subject of the
history and Law relating to lanG grants,
aud concluded that if the department
was clothed with authority 10 make
indemnity Withdrawals, as had been
done in 30 may instances, the exercise OF
that authority was q matter entirely
within sound discretion, and not a matter
of legai obligation in any respect; that
= l.. 49, -. .,k.uk - g.
interest OF b companieH, Justified SAID
Withdrawals nov demanded peremptori-
ly in the public interest a speedy with
drawal OF the same; and that the most
effective way OF expecting al adjust
ment OF the land grants and dong exact
Justice to the companies, guarding and
promoting the interests of the settlers
also, WAS to permit the pnblic to enter
,nto competition With the companies in
the selection of lands heretofore with
draw for indemnity purposes.
Accordingly, on May %, 1887, with
your approval, rules we're laid upon the
different companies for whose benefit
withdrawals had been made to shew cause
by a certain day why said withdrawals
should not be revoked. Some of the
companies failed to show cause; others
filed answers asserting to the revocation
az they had received satisfaction of the
: grant either In full or as far as possible;
. others assented on condition that lands
. covered by selections slready made should
be excepted from the order of revocation
: and other companies objected to the
a order of revocation as Illegal and q yio-
latlon of chartered righta. Briefs were
J filed and oral arguments accorded to
! the counsel of such companies as de-
+ sired to be heard, all of which were fully
t and carefully considered as was due tc
the Importance of the questions and the
9 magnitude of of the interests involved
and on Aug. l3, 1887, my Views were
: fully expressed in O decision rendered in
the case of the Atlantic & Pacific rail-
road company, which by answer and ar.
gument raised ne m, all the objections
= that we're presen,teta q part only by 9
number of otnerHs ,r panies.
Q / send herewith IS copy of the whole
: text of that opinion, in which those OBJ
iections were answered serlatlm.
J Two days later the orders Withdrawing
the lands within the indemnity iiTaiti
and reserying the same from settlement
were revoked, and the lands restored tc
e the public domain and to settlement,
a first, in the cases OF two companies which
:. uhA uUb hllbWtISu. StSSuu III tlccc HbtCh
answering, %assented; the third, IN the
y cases of the companies which set up de-
lenses coming within the rulings in TIT
y foregoing opinion. q
In the congressional grants to tbt
following railroad companies, the Hast
q ings Il Dakota, the st. Paul u Northern
Q Pacific, the st. Paul, Minneapolis &
q Manitoba, the st. Paul & Sioux City, tn,
Sioux City & st. Paul, and the Winon,
70 l. st. Peter, it is provided that apo I'll
d ing the maps designating the routes o
81 said roads and branches it shall be tn
% duty of the secretary OF the interior /
IA Withdraw from market the lands embrat
u ed within the provisions of the act max
ing the grant. In consequence of tn,
provision these roads were omitted fror
~ the orders of gestorations 1t will b
st- seen from the order passed IN the Al
lts lantio and Pacific case, and which WI
I'M applied to the other companies mutat
e. mntandis, that whilst it was determine
m that the lands in question should nj
longer be withheld from appropriate
under the settlement laws, every pr
to caution possible was taken to protect II
no legal rights of the corporation.
oe Following this action instruction
.se were subsequently, issued to the con
ase r~aissionertof the general land office
to detail all the available force IN his off
to- the work OF adjusting the road gran
to and proceeding as rapidly as possib
aai with the same.
The amount of land restored to &
ISL public domain, through the orders Z
ere voking the indemnity Withdrawals,
OF stated by the commissioner OF the ge
ais eral land Office to be 21.323 800 acres.
gal beg to refer to what has been 50
ed, In another part of this report in relati
10 the imperative necessity OF appropr
the lions for the surveys, without which
es- complete adjustment OF these grants
not practicable ut an early day.
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